Iron Maiden have asked concertgoers to limit the use of phone cameras during their shows, in the run-up to their upcoming ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour.
The band’s manager, Ron Smallwood, recently shared a post on the band’s website titled “Put away your phones and get ready to Run For Your Lives!”, where he advised attendees of the upcoming tour to experience the shows “in the moment” rather than through their phone cameras.
“We really want fans to enjoy the shows first hand, rather than on their small screens,” said Smallwood. “The amount of phone use nowadays diminishes enjoyment, particularly for the band who are on stage looking out at rows of phones, but also for other concertgoers.
“We feel that the passion and involvement of our fans at shows really makes them special, but the phone obsession has now got so out of hand that it has become unnecessarily distracting, especially to the band. I hope fans understand this and will be sensible in severely limiting the use of their phone cameras out of respect for the band and their fellow fans.”
The European and UK tour will be starting off in Budapest on Tuesday, May 27. The metal heavyweights will travel through Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland in June, before playing gigs at Malahide Castle in Dublin on June 25, London Stadium on Jun 28, and the OVO Hyrdro in Glasgow on June 30.
The ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour, with its title referencing the Maiden classic ‘Run To The Hills’, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the band, featureing a setlist made up exclusively of songs from their first nine albums: fans can expect classics from records such as ‘The Number of the Beast’ and ‘Powerslave’. Frontman Bruce Dickinson has teased that these sets will see the band “doing stuff we’ve never, ever done before.”
The metal legends are one of the most influential acts in the genre. Pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal in the late 70’s, their galloping drums, melodic twin guitars and powerful vocals saw the band carve out their signature sound. Musicians from Metallica, Anthrax, Avenged Sevenfold and Dream Theater have all cited the group as an inspiration.
The tour will also see the debut of Maiden’s new drummer, Simon Dawson. In an interview with Blabbermouth.net, Bruce Dickinson said he was “pleasantly shocked” with the new drummer’s skills upon rehearsal. Their long-standing drummer Nicko McBrain announced his retirement from touring in December, after suffering from a stroke which left him partially paralysed on his right side from the shoulder down.
All dates and tickets for Iron Maiden’s upcoming tour can be found on the band’s website here.
